Identity Crisis
by JasonHRAC
Summary: Shinji Ikari is just another regular teenager with a life that is as normal as can be. However, things change, and Shinji finds himself questioning his reality, having hallucinations of monsters, having familiar feelings of people he had never met before, and dreaming of a world where he piloted a giant machine.
1. Prologue

Identity Crisis  
Chapter 1: Prologue  
**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise. Studio Gainax, Studio Khara, Hideaki Anno, and that Sadomoto guy do, I guess.  
****A/N: So, here I am with another Evangelion fanfiction. It's been quite some time, but yeah, here it is. Just like Innocent Trip, I've had this concept on my mind for a very long time but never found the motivation to actually think through what happens. But knowing who I am, I decided to go ahead and write this down because why not, right? That's probably not a good thing, but whatever. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy my new whatever. Be sure to review to let me know what you guys think of it!****  
**

* * *

_Am I crying? Am I really crying again? Why am I crying? Is it for Mother? Is it for Father? Or maybe for both of them?_

_It doesn't matter. I'm sick of this anyway. I'm sick of it all. Sometimes, I wish that I would just stay here, in this dream. Reality isn't worth the pain. But I mustn't run away. That'd make me no better than my father...and yet..._

* * *

_The year is 2015. This is the story of a boy, and how his life changed when he was fourteen years old._

* * *

_I wake up. I get out of bed. I get changed into my uniform. I make myself some breakfast and a lunch box for later. I go to school. I talk to Toji and Kensuke. I study. I eat lunch. I go home. I do some homework. I make dinner. I listen to music and watch TV. I go to bed. Repeat._

_That's how my life seems to be._

* * *

Shinji didn't even want to get out of bed for a myriad of reasons, but he knew he had to. It was his responsibility to get up. So he did. After all, life wasn't about what he wanted. It was never about what he wanted. But he made do in life regardless of whatever life had thrown at him. After all, someone who has shut them out from a great many people, someone who is apathetic, someone who doesn't care, cannot be hurt.

Right?

After getting up and brushing his teeth quickly, he got dressed in his uniform; a plain white button up shirt and some dark green pants. Knowing that Father was most likely still asleep in his own room, Shinji did his best to be quiet as he walked out and began to prepare his food. He decided to start making his lunch first as he usually did, putting in some rice, meat, and other things. After he did so, he began fixing up breakfast.

As Shinji put on his backpack, he glanced at the closed door of his father's room. _Father... _He simply thought with a frown. It would probably be best if he left right now or else he'd have to face him. After all, with all the drinking he had been doing, he'd probably wake up with a killer hangover, and that was something Shinji didn't want to be a part of, so he left. He didn't want to hate his father, but he felt like his father hated him, so there was no point in caring for someone who has cast you out of his life. It was like they weren't even father and son anymore. They were just two strangers in the same house. The two of them barely talked, and even when they did, it was never anything special. Just questions like "Have you done your homework?" or so.

For as long as he could remember, his father drank, and drank, and drank. Whether it be going out to a bar after work or crashing at home with a bottle of alcohol in his hand, Gendo Ikari liked to drink. Shinji could guess why he drank. He was sad, he was angry, he was bitter. Ever since Mother disappeared, all he did was drink.

Shinji didn't exactly remember everything, but he knew that his mother, Yui Ikari, had died when he was very little, likely when he was 3 or 4 years old. He didn't know the circumstances (either that, or he repressed the memories) of how she died, but his father seemed to either blame Shinji or himself for it. Maybe he blamed both.

Walking out the door with a soft sigh, Shinji began walking to school. Tokyo-3 was a beautiful place. It was beautiful enough to calm him down, and for that, he was thankful. The boy never knew how to deal with emotions. He did know that he felt at peace when he walked however. Maybe that was enough.

The streets were fairly populated in the morning, bustling with teenagers and adults alike in a rush to get to school or work. Shinji felt so small in this large crowd, but in a way, he rather liked it like that. Sometimes, he preferred being unnoticed. This was partly thanks to his father.

But enough thinking of Father.

The sun was up. And Shinji would have to move if he wanted to get to school on time. Quickening his pace a bit, the young boy began breaking into a run as soon as the crowd cleared up a little bit, holding his bag tightly.

Shinji wasn't exactly a fast runner, being quite scrawny and unathletic for a boy his age. Still, if he kept running at this pace, he _should _be able to catch up to Toji and Kensuke, who both happened to live closer to the school than he did. Still, maybe living slightly further away from the school was a good thing in some ways. It may take a longer time to get there, but Shinji had more distance to run, so he could get more fit. And that was quite beneficial to his otherwise—

_**CRASH!**_

The young boy's thoughts stopped as abruptly as his running as he suddenly found himself on the ground in a daze, doing his best to recover from whatever just happened. The first thing Shinji had registered, other than the fact he was sitting on the ground, supported by his arm, was the fortunate fact that no one seemed to be there to see his blunder.

Except for one girl in front of him. She seemed to be around his age, though her looks seemed foreign. To say red hair is uncommon in Japan is quite the understatement. Then again, the girl didn't even look like she came from Japan. Rather, she looked to be of Western origins, probably from Europe or America?

As Shinji touched his bag to make sure it was still there, he continued to examine the girl's expression. She was in a daze like him, but he managed to recover faster. However, when the girl _did _come to, she instantly shot a glare at Shinji that made him gulp and caused his heart to drop. He instantly felt threatened by this girl, like with that look alone, he could infer she was the type who could get away with homicide and not only would the body be never found, all the evidence linked to her would be burned away.

Deducing that a mere apology wouldn't be accepted by someone like her, Shinji prepared for the worst once the girl opened her mouth to speak, but even then, he still wasn't prepared for what was to come.

"You moron!" She bellowed, "What's wrong with you?! What are you, stupid?! You should really watch where you're going, you idiot! Can't you see I'm in a rush?! Oh, you got dirt on my uniform! Thanks a lot, pinhead! I _just _got this too! How am I gonna explain this to my dad?!" The redheaded girl whined in frustration as she helped herself up, while Shinji stayed on the ground, nervous that if he even attempted to stand up, he'd get shoved back down for some reason. There was a short pause before the girl began talking again. "What, are you gonna apologize or not?"

"S-Sorry," Shinji stammered, nervously getting up against his better judgment, praying to dear God that his fears wouldn't come true and the girl would use her rage to push him back down to the ground, assuming she wouldn't do anything worse to him.

"Whatever, it's too late now," she replied, before blinking, her eyes suddenly growing wide, "Oh, crap! I'm gonna be late if I waste any more time with you! I can't be late _today_!" She exclaimed, before taking off, leaving Shinji in the dust without even saying goodbye to him.

And it was then that Shinji realized the girl was wearing the standard girls' uniform for _his _school.

* * *

"No way! So was she hot or what?" Kensuke asked enthusiastically.

"Well…yeah, she was pretty attractive," Shinji admitted, sheepishly scratching the back of his head as he talked about the mysterious girl from…well, several minutes ago, "Though it's not like I'd ever be able to hook up with her even if I wanted. I feel lucky she didn't hit me, actually."

"Still, man! Besides, you said she was wearing a uniform that belonged to _this _school? Ooh! What if it turned out she gets into this class?! Wouldn't that be cool?! This class is sorta lacking in good-looking girls anyway, wouldn't ya say?" The glasses-wearing boy said, fiddling with the camera on his desk.

Shinji simply shrugged. "I'm good. Besides, you weren't there, man. She was like a demon," he said, imagining the redhead with devil horns and a pitchfork standing in front of a fiery background. Of course, his imagination wasn't much compared to Kensuke's, who was probably imagining some sort of lewd demon girl, opposed to the demon of true evil in Shinji's imagination.

"Yeah, I agree. She sounded like a real bitch, Ikari. And I have enough trouble with bitchy girls, considering the class rep is always on my ass," Toji piped in, entering the conversation. He approached his two friends, dressed in his usual tracksuit instead of wearing the school's standard uniform. He crossed his arms with his usual confident demeanor, leaning against the wall with a smirk.

Kensuke nodded to Toji, which was sort of his way of saying hi. "Heya, Toji. Nice of you to join the conversation," he said with a smile.

"…Suzuhara…" A low, pissed-off sounding voice came from behind Toji.

Toji's eyes widened, and he gulped. He looked to his friends for help, and all Kensuke could do was look back, scared for his friend, while Shinji, who was equally scared, managed to point a finger behind Toji.

Hesitantly, Toji looked back and his worst fear became real once he saw the class representative, Hikari Horaki, standing there, arms on her hips, with a look of anger so hot and intense it could melt the sun.

…Well, almost.

"What…did you just call me, Mr. Suzuhara?" She asked.

"W-Whaddya mean, class rep? Whatcha talkin' about?" Toji chuckled nervously, playing innocent, though Hikari would have none of it.

"Care to repeat what you said about me?"

_Well, that didn't work, _Toji thought to himself, _Time for Plan B. That always gets me out!_

"Well, I don't know what you're referrin' to, but I gotta use the john really quick!" He said, making his way behind Hikari and going for the door, though he was stopped dead in his tracks when the brown-haired girl grabbed the back of his tracksuit with immense strength. Strength that no one could guess she had.

"I don't think so, Mr. Suzuhara! Besides, class is starting soon, so I suggest you take your seat!" She commanded, causing Toji to sigh and surrender.

"Yes ma'am," he said. _Damn, I really should think of more plans in the future,_ he thought as he obeyed and walked over to his seat once Hikari let go of him.

Shinji did the same, and Kensuke was already in his seat anyway. "Poor Toji. He's totally whipped! If those two went out together, I definitely know who'd be wearing the pants in that relationship!" The young freckled boy said, unable to hold back an amused smirk. Eventually, the teacher walked in, his old, tired eyes looking the same as always.

…Wait a minute.

"Good morning, class." He said simply, making his way over to the desk in the front.

Something's off…

Hikari spoke up, clearing her throat. "Ah, sir? You're in the wrong room," she said politely to him.

The old man looked up, examining the students at their desks. He adjusted his glasses, before nodding. "Hmm. So I am. My mistake…" He said, nonchalantly turning around and exiting the room. Several of the students couldn't help but laugh softly, wondering if he was senile or something of the sort. As he left, the class's real teacher came in; Misato Katsuragi.

Giving the other teacher an odd look, Ms. Katsuragi walked over to her desk, laying down several papers. One could guess they were graded tests or something like that. The young teacher looked at her students with a smile. "Good morning, class!"

"Good morning, Ms. Katsuragi," the students half-heartedly replied.

"Listen up, guys! We've got a new student joining us today, so you better give her a warm welcome!" She exclaimed, before glancing at the doorway, "Come on, Asuka. Don't be shy," she said with a smile.

"I am _not _shy!" A familiar voice came. Then _she _walked in. The dreaded demonic devil. The one that Shinji had bumped into on accident earlier that morning. To say that the boy himself was shocked would be quite the understatement. His jaw was so close to dropping onto the table like an exaggerated cartoon, and if this was any typical bad anime show, it'd be like every inch of his body, including his clothes, had turned ghostly white in pure bewilderment.

She, dare one say, arrogantly put her hands on her hips and stood in a fashion like she owned the place, even though no one, save for poor Shinji, had seen her before. "I'm Asuka Langley Sohryu. Charmed, I'm sure," she said with a confident smile.

Suddenly, Shinji felt a strange sensation rise within him. It felt like time had suddenly decided to stop. He simply sat there, unable to move, as if his body was a statue. Everyone else was frozen, and the girl named Sohryu was stuck in mid-sentence. Though Shinji should have been wondering why time seemed to stop for him, he was more concerned with the possibility that he had actually seen this girl before.

Before the two of them crashed into each other, that is.

But where could they have possibly met? That was the question. It felt like…he had been friends with her before. People had often said that when you die and get reincarnated, people who you meet in the next life that you knew in the old life become very familiar.

Was this the kind of feeling Shinji was getting? This alien sense of familiarity?

The boy was suddenly snapped back into his senses once he heard Ms. Katsuragi's voice. "And there you have it, folks! Asuka Langley Sohryu, from, you heard it, Germany! Let's treat Asuka to a great school year, alright, class?"

"Yes, Ms. Katsuragi," the class responded.

_Wait a minute. She's from Germany. When did I hear that? Did I miss something? _Shinji thought, mentally raising an eyebrow. Did time really stop for him or did he just black out in the middle of Asuka talking?

"Glad to hear it! Now, Asuka. Why don't you take a seat near…Shinji? Right there!" She said, pointing at the empty seat right next to Shinji.

Shinji's heart sunk like the Titanic.

"What, next to that dork?" Asuka murmured under her breath with a look. She sighed. "Alright, then." She said, complying and occupying the seat to the left of Shinji.

The boy snuck a few glances here and there at the girl. He had to admit, she _was _really pretty, even if her personality, as far as Shinji could tell, really needed work before she could become a potential interest—

Shinji blinked, not being able to help but blush a little.

And all the while, Asuka was trying her best to ignore Shinji's obvious attempts to get a good look. _Damn pervert is probably trying something! _She said to herself in her head.

Fifteen minutes later, everyone was writing on their worksheets handed to them by Misato. Shinji was in such deep concentration, and totally not drawing a complete blank as he read his next question, that he accidentally dropped the pencil, which rolled over to Asuka.

However, Shinji didn't realize where it was until Asuka picked it up and handed it to him. "Thanks," he said softly with a smile. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all.

It was then he realized there was chewing gum wrapped around the pencil. Shinji was hit with both a blow to what pride he had and another feeling of familiarity that bugged him. He sighed, putting his pencil away and checking to see if he had another one handy.

Life certainly gets complicated at fourteen years old, doesn't it?

* * *

**A/N: So yeah, that's it! With that, I am officially back! Or something like that. Let's go through the usual drill; did I make any grammatical or technical errors? Is there anything I need to work on? Whatever your questions, concerns, comments, or death threats may be, I eagerly await to see your thoughts in your review, hopefully assuming you'll make a review. You'll make one, right?**

**Jesus, I've been working on this since what, August or so? I hope this new fic will bring me out of my writer's block that I have like every two days or so. I believe at one point, one reason I came close to just scrapping this was because it was almost becoming a crossover between Evangelion and Clannad or something, though that'd be an interesting thing to see.**

**Anyway, I'm getting off-track. Again, like I said, reviews are always welcome and appreciated. Numbers like those make my story look worth reading after all, right? Stay tuned, folks!**


	2. Dream On

Identity Crisis  
Chapter 2: Dream On  
**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise. All rights belong to Hideaki Anno, Studio Gainax, Studio Khara, and some other people I don't mention.  
A/N: Alrighty, then. Everyone ready for the exciting second chapter of this…thing? I know I am!**

* * *

_She was the strangest girl Shinji had ever laid eyes upon. Unnatural blue hair, unsettling blood red eyes, and a ghostly pale exterior. Covered up in bandages in some sort of white suit, she was definitely not someone he'd often see. But what was she doing here? And what was she doing on a stretcher? Was she really that badly hurt?_

_Shinji didn't know where he was, but he wanted out. There was a giant purple robot-looking thing next to him, partly submerged in some sort of liquid and restrained by many wires and such. A woman with purple hair almost resembling his teacher, Ms. Katsuragi, except she didn't have her signature "determined and confident smile," and she was instead wearing a red jacket over some sort of black dress or so._

_There was also a woman nearby, resembling the school's nurse, Dr. Akagi, though she looked to be the same with her white labcoat, purple shirt, and black pencil skirt. He could also feel the cold, hard stare of his father from above, and as the young boy looked up, he saw Gendo Ikari, dressed in a uniform, white gloves, and glasses that almost hid his eye._

_What in the world is going on here? Is this a dream? Am I losing my mind? Numerous thoughts raced through Shinji's head, the poor boy immensely confused and worried. Why was everyone looking at him like this?_

_Then, all of a sudden, the world quite literally shook, almost like an earthquake. It was all so strong and so sudden that Shinji couldn't help but lose balance and nearly fall down. However, the blue-haired girl in the stretcher fell off with a loud yelp. Debris fell from the ceiling and crashed into the liquid surrounding the giant purple monster._

_Instinctively, Shinji ran towards the strange girl, kneeling beside her and trying to help her up. "Are you okay?!" He asked in alarm, though the answer should have been obvious; she was most definitely not okay. She was writhing in pain, gritting her teeth and groaning softly. Upon closer inspection, her face almost reminded Shinji of…_

…_of Mother._

* * *

Shinji awakened from his dream with a grunt. _What a weird dream, _he thought, before looking at his clock. Now was the time to get up and get ready for school, it seemed. It was early, so of course, the room was still dark…and silent.

Slowly, Shinji helped himself up, rubbing his eyes and yawning softly. As he sat up, he glanced at his nightstand, glancing at his clock again, and then his attention shifted to the thing next to it; a penguin bobblehead with a collar that said "Pen2." Shinji couldn't help but smile slightly, remembering how he got it.

It was a fair amount of time ago, but the young boy still remembered. It was near the end of last year, and at this point of course, students couldn't care less about grades, and instead looked forward to their next break. Ms. Katsuragi, aware of this fact, tried to motivate the students to get good grades on their exams by saying that the students with the highest grades would get a special prize.

Her ploy didn't actually work, though. There were quite a few students who failed regardless, and Shinji was the only one who aced the finals, surpassing even the class rep herself. And the so-called special prize that the boy got as a result was that penguin bobblehead. It wasn't good for much, Shinji admitted, but every time he looked at it, he would always remember Ms. Katsuragi's energy, her sometimes unorthodox teaching methods, and how unprofessional she'd act whenever the substitute teacher Mr. Kaji walked into the classroom for whatever reason.

He flicked the Pen-Pen bobblehead with his left index finger and thumb, seeing its head move as expected. Shinji couldn't help but smile a little bit. If there was anyone who could make Shinji smile, it was his teacher.

Deciding that he had wasted enough time, Shinji made his way out of the bedroom and into the restroom after grabbing his uniform, and then he did his business and wash his hair, before proceeding to get dressed.

After doing so, he made his way out of the restroom and into the main area, finding himself in the same position as yesterday morning; Father was likely out cold, as the place was quiet, except for the quiet hum of the ceiling fan. Proceeding with his usual drill of eating breakfast and making himself a bento box for lunch, Shinji eventually walked out the door, ready to start the day once again.

As expected, the day wasn't all that different from yesterday. People here, people there, sun up there, a familiar looking fiery redhead running over there…wait, what?

"Hey! Hey, you! Ikari, was it?" Asuka Langley Sohryu called over to the unsuspecting Shinji, who pulled out the ear buds connected to his SDAT player, blinking as he looked over at Asuka's direction, stopping dead in his tracks. _Oh no, _he thought, _what could she want with me now?_

"Um, yeah," Shinji said nervously, "Hi, Sohryu. Do you…uh, need something from me?" He said nervously. _Does she have something malicious planned for me or something, _Shinji mentally asked himself.

"Yeah! Well, you see…ah…" Asuka began, her enthusiasm and energy suddenly fading a little bit for some odd reason, "I…need your answers for yesterday's homework," she said, looking away with a frown, almost as if she were bashfully embarrassed. Or maybe she was scanning the area for anyone she knew. _How embarrassing would it be to have someone find out I had to get something from this loser? _Asuka thought to herself in disgust.

The young boy blinked in surprise. "Uhm…you need the answers? Y-You didn't do the homework?" He asked, almost as if forgetting to do homework was a foreign concept to him.

Well, it wasn't really _forgetting_ to do it, as he would soon find out.

"Well, it's not _my _fault I couldn't do it!" Asuka exclaimed, her cheeks blushing a nice shade of pink in further embarrassment, "After all, I _am _from Germany! I've only started learning the Japanese language, and…well, I can't really read the kanji that well, much less write it…" she mumbled, before clearing her throat, "But trust me! I'm a genius! I'll have you know I'm just as intelligent as my father and as beautiful as my mother!" Asuka then said, proudly placing her hands on her hips as she put a smile on her face that seemed a bit awkward to Shinji.

"…Uh-huh. I-I'm sure," Shinji nodded skeptically.

"Stop wasting time already and give me your homework! And make it snappy, or else we'll be late for class, you big dummy!" She said, regaining her zeal.

"Alright, fine, fine!" Shinji sighed, giving in to the Red Devil's demands, "Follow me. You can copy my answers on the way to school, though I'm going to warn you, I didn't really understand the material Ms. Katsuragi explained to us yesterday, so it's not gonna be my fault if she calls us in, okay?" He asked, sincerely nervous that his dear teacher might want to have a talk with the two of them under suspicion they became covert answer partners or something like that. Shaking his head in order to dispel his odd thoughts, he fished out the worksheet from the day before and handed it to Asuka with a soft sigh.

"Thank you very much!" She said, graciously snatching the paper from his hands and taking out a pencil along with her own paper, doing her best to write as she walked with Shinji.

While the redheaded girl was distracted with doing her own homework, the curious young fellow couldn't help but sneak a few peeks at Asuka. He had to admit, she really was pretty. In fact, she was probably one of the prettiest girls he had ever seen. Then again, that was probably only because he didn't often meet girls from Europe.

Shinji couldn't help but make himself look away. If he kept on looking at her like this, he may get caught, assuming Asuka hadn't already noticed. He looked away uncomfortably, though he still walked forward, unable to hold back a small blush. He wasn't used to being like this around girls. Hikari always had a formal aura to her, like a respected queen or something, so Shinji didn't worry about liking her. Then there was Mana from Elementary School, but she was a different story.

"Here you go, Ikari! But don't think I owe you one or anything like that! Once I get a grip on your dumb language, I won't need your help ever again!" She said hotly, giving Shinji his paper back.

"Oh, um, okay then…" Shinji said with a small frown, putting his worksheet back into his bag.

A small silence then happened shortly afterward as the two children continued to walk to school together. Shinji frankly found it uncomfortable and awkward, so after swallowing, he cleared his throat and attempted to strike up a conversation with Asuka. After all, he'd like to get to know someone he just recently met, even if she seems to be mean to him for no apparent reason. Plus, there was just something in his gut that kept bothering him; like he knew her from somewhere before.

"So uh…Sohryu? Why did you decide to move to Japan? You don't really seem to like it here…" He told her.

"It wasn't my choice," she said with a small shrug, "A really good, high-paying job opened up for my dad in Japan, so he made the choice to move over here with me. He probably knows better Japanese I do. After all, this little country is actually the place where my parents met," she said openly. Her responsiveness surprised even her to be honest.

Little did Shinji know, Asuka was feeling the same thing he felt. A sense of strange familiarity that couldn't be let go. Even if she didn't want to admit it, assuming she paid this feeling any mind, she knew in the back of her head that she knew Shinji from somewhere before, and not knowing where frustrated her to no end!

"R-Really? Wow, that's cool, I imagine," Shinji nodded, feeling like he was making progress. It was nice not having to endure an insult from her every two minutes or so.

Wait, how much time passed again?

"Mhm," Asuka nodded, pursing her lips briefly, "Then again, I hear there's a lot of new students like me coming in. After all, Tokyo-3 _is _the capital of Japan, right? There always seems to be something new in this place. You could almost lose yourself in a place like this," she commented.

"Well…maybe you should get used to it. This place isn't all that special if you ask me," he said earnestly, scratching his head a little bit.

"We'll see about that."

The conversation was short-lived, as Shinji couldn't bring himself to continue it, whether it was because he couldn't think of anything else to say or he didn't want to break the world record of minutes that had gone by without being inconvenienced by Asuka in some way.

So thus, they simply walked, walked, and walked.

* * *

"Good morning, class!" Misato Katsuragi said with such energy that bothered some of the more acquiescent students, "How are you all doing today?"

"Good," some of the students replied, most of them responding half-heartedly as usual.

"Glad to hear it!" She said with a smile. A lot of the kids would always wonder how she manages to always be so energetic in the morning, "Alright, class. Now, I—" She began, before being interrupted.

**Knock, knock.**

The door had been knocked on, before being opened. Mr. Kaji walked in, dressed in his usual blue shirt and red tie, with that laid-back smile and his five o'clock shadow giving an unprofessionally professional ambience to him.

"Hey there, Katsuragi. How you doin'?" He said with a wink, glancing at the students who looked back at him, some wondering why he had disturbed the class, and others thankful for the extra time as they secretly rushed to do the homework they forgot, like Toji, for example.

"What are _you _doing here?" Misato asked Kaji, instantly irritated as she gave him a glare that could kill butterflies.

Kaji, however, didn't seem to be affected by the glare. Instead, he even chuckled lightly at her, as if he found the look to be cute in some weird way or another.

_What a strange man, _Shinji thought.

_What a gorgeous hunk! _Asuka thought.

"I'm just here to give you a new student," he said, before glancing behind him, "Come on now. They won't bite," he said, making way for someone.

A pale girl with blue hair and red eyes walked into the room. Almost everything about her appearance was strange, and some might even say disturbing, yet at the same time, she was…cute, another might say. Even if she _was _wearing an unfamiliar uniform.

"Come on! Introduce yourself," Kaji said to the girl encouragingly, "You can do it!"

"U-Uhm…m-my name is R-Rei Ayanami," she stammered shyly, putting her hands together, "H-How do you do?"

There was no response for a moment until Kaji cleared his throat, still smiling. "That's the spirit, Rei! Now, do play nice with the other students! Buh-bye! Take care of her, Katsuragi!" He said with another wink, before vanishing.

"H-Hey! Wait a second, you! I didn't—" Ms. Katsuragi began, almost intending to march out of the classroom and give Mr. Kaji a piece of her mind, before deciding against it. Giving a deep sigh, she returned to her desk and looked at Rei. "Alright, then. Ayanami, was it? Sorry about the outburst. Why dontcha sit in front of Shinji? Over there," she said, pointing to Shinji with her pencil.

"Okay," the girl named Rei said with a nod, walking over to the table in front of Shinji and taking a seat.

_She's just like the girl from the dream. She looks just like…Mother, _Shinji thought. Was this all just a strange coincidence? It couldn't be, could it? The boy didn't often believe in coincidences, after all, but what other explanation could there be? He was hit with the same odd feeling as he did with Asuka. But this one seemed stronger than Asuka, considering this Rei looked so much like his mother for some odd reason. But what could that odd reason just be anyway?

However, before the puzzled youth could think more into this, his thoughts were interrupted when Ms. Katsuragi spoke again. "Alright, class. Now that we have that over with, get out your homework assignments," she said, knocking Shinji back into reality.

Meanwhile, near the back of the room, an irritated Kensuke Aida was wondering just how the hell Shinji was getting girls like Sohryu and Ayanami to sit close to him. Why couldn't he get any pretty girls to sit close to, dammit?

_Sneaky bastard. I bet he's paying Ms. Katsuragi some good money to get those girls!_

* * *

After classes ended for the day, the mysterious Ayanami girl left the school building rather quickly, as did Sohryu. And Toji & Kensuke, for that matter. However, Shinji stayed behind for cleaning duty, being paired up with Kaworu Nagisa.

Kaworu Nagisa was an odd boy, but looking back, he was probably the first friend Shinji actually had made. Shinji had known Kaworu ever since the two of them were little boys. Of course, in the years that have passed, Shinji would rather describe him as "that old friend" rather than a "BFF" like Toji and Kensuke. Still, Kaworu was a good friend, and Shinji was glad he knew him. The older boy had silver hair and typically wore either an orange or purple shirt underneath the standard uniform. Come to think of it, he was also pale and had red eyes, like Ayanami did. Are the two of them by any chance somehow related?

"Is something the matter, Shinji? You look a little down," Kaworu said to Shinji as he cleaned the room. He offered a rather pleasant smile that calmed Shinji down a little bit.

"Well…I wouldn't say I'm down, but I'm just…lost in thought, you might say," the younger boy said, continuing to clean the classroom as well.

"What are you thinking of?" Kaworu asked curiously.

"Well, that new Ayanami girl, actually. She reminds me of you a little bit, so I was wondering if you know anything about her, by any chance."

Kaworu shook his head. "No, as a matter of fact, I don't know her. Your guess is as good as mine, Shinji," he responded simply with a shrug.

"Oh, I see," the brown-haired boy replied, "You know, if you ask me, you two look like you could be brother and sister," he said with a smile.

Kaworu couldn't help but laugh lightly. "You really think so? What a thought."

* * *

"Hey, dad. I'm home," Shinji said as he entered his house, taking his shoes off and walking into the main room, dropping his bag on the floor. In peripheral vision, he could spot his father sitting at the dining table along with…Ayanami?

Turning his head to get a better view, Shinji was extremely surprised to see that a stranger like Rei was there, in his own home! What was going on here?

"Um, dad?"

"Oh, hello there, Shinji," Gendo Ikari said in his usual tone of voice. He took his glasses off, briefly pinching the bridge of his nose, before standing up, looking at his son. "I'd like for you to meet Rei Ayanami. She'll be…staying here with us for some time," he announced.

"A-Ayanami's going to be staying here?" Shinji asked in surprise, to which his father nodded in confirmation.

"Yes, she is, so I expect you to be on your best behavior. Understood?" He asked strictly, to which Shinji nodded.

"Do not worry, Mr. Ikari. I have already become acquainted with Shinji in school today," Rei said quietly, her expression never changing, almost like the man next to her.

"So it seems," Father said, "Anyway, I trust that the two of you will get along?"

"Of course," Rei promised with a nod.

"Y-Yeah," Shinji responded, "How do you two know each other anyway?"

"Rei is your cousin, Shinji. Your mother's niece, to be exact. There have been some…complications with her own family, so she's been sent off to live with us," he told Shinji coolly, "This may be sudden, but I think she'll be a good addition to the household," he said, putting a hand on Rei's shoulder.

Shinji simply nodded. So _that _was why she looked like Mother. He was still a bit shaken up, though. It wasn't exactly often he was told someone was going to live with him from now on. Much less in such a seemingly apathetic manner. And even less a person whom Shinji had _just _met today.

Still, he had to regain his composure. Since Shinji had returned home late, it was nearly dinnertime, so he took a deep breath and looked at Rei. "So…are you hungry, Ayanami? I can make all of us some dinner."

"Yes, that would be fine," Rei simply answered, still with that eerie, almost robotic expression.

First, a fairly outspoken girl from Germany. Second, a quiet, reserved, and seemingly shy girl. At this point, a British girl could come falling from the sky and come crashing right into Shinji, and the boy probably wouldn't be as surprised as he'd think he'd be.

* * *

**A/N: So yeah. Chapter 2. Sorry for the delay, my dear readers. I've been pretty damn busy with schoolwork and whatnot, but I hope I delivered. Anyway, the usual drill is there; reviews are greatly welcome, so don't be shy! You know what they say, the more the merrier. Until then, see you next time on Identity Crisis!**


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